MOT Overdue? You’re Not Alone…

March is a peak month for MOT tests and a new study for Kwik Fit, the UK’s leading automotive servicing and repair chain, has revealed that over four million drivers freely admit that they have not got their car MOT test completed before the previous one expired.

Ipswich MOT customers should make sure that they are aware of the date that their MOT certificate expires.

When asked the average length of time these motorists have driven without a valid MOT is around 37 days. Nearly a third of those missing their MOT deadline got a valid certificate within three days but 4% of those driving without an MOT did so for more than ten months.

March 2017 will see nearly half a million cars require their first MOT.

2016 saw March as the month with the highest number of new registrations with over 500,000 cars hitting the road for the first time, and with those cars now turning three years old, they need an MOT for the first time.

Kwik Fit advises drivers with a “17” registration plate to be sure to check their date of first registration.

The company’s research shows that people missing the third year anniversary is in the top ten reasons given by drivers for not having an upto date MOT certificate. Another very common reason stated is that they failed to get an MOT appointment in time. Drivers are able to put their car through the MOT up to one month before their current certificate runs out while still keeping the same expiry date for the following year. This sort of flexibility should allow ample time and convenience to arrange the test.

Londoners have the most casual attitude to the MOT certificate, with nearly one quarters of drivers admitting to have driven their car without an upto date MOT certificate.

The survey by Kwik Fit found that London motorists who have not obtained an upto date MOT certificate drive for nearly three months on average before doing so. Conversely, drivers in the South West are the quickest to spot their mistake, with the average time driving without an MOT in that region just over 5 days.

“Our research showed that drivers give many different reasons for not getting their car MOTed but the most common seems to be simply forgetfulness”, said a Kwik Fit representative

“The most worrying are those who knew their car would fail the test and so drove it until they got it fixed. But there are also those who felt that their car was safe and didn’t need the MOT to prove it.The test is a crucial element in keeping our roads safe and can spot issues that might not be obvious to us in our day to day driving but could be significant in an emergency.”

The fines involved for not obtaining a valid MOT certificate far outweigh any short term saving by delaying the inevitable need for an MOT.